A Night At The Summer Festival
by Lily Hanson
Summary: Follows A Second Chance - After all the chaos, Serena and Emily take the team to their hometown's annual summer festival for a night of fun.
1. Getting There

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers: (Super) Samurai. This is purely fan-made.

Though the weather didn't seem to agree, summer was slowly starting to wind down. There was still a month left before the official end of season, but schools were starting up, and that feeling of summer bliss was dying down.

But like Mike, it wasn't dead yet. Students were back in school, but there was one more festival before they considered the summer was over.

"I can't believe mom and dad are missing this," Serena announced as she stood in the bathroom with the girls to get ready. Living out in the country, there wasn't much to do or see. There weren't big malls, there were no great sights for tourists, and there were no amusement parks. All the time, it was the same old sights, the same old routine, and even the same old people. Tourists were rare, as the closest hotels, or even bed and breakfast was miles and miles away. Possibly in Panorama City.

But the residents did have one thing they could brag about: the summer festival. Every year, rain or shine, everyone in town and on the farms, would take a weekend off (or do the bare minimum if necessary) to attend the summer festival. It was a three day event, spanning from Friday night to Sunday evening, and everyone was sure to attend at least one day. Many attended all three.

After losing their homes, their lives, and being torn apart and beaten down, the Rangers were more than happy to attend the festival. They were promised sweet treats and fun games. Basically, they were ready for an amazing day. All they had to do was get ready for it.

"Mom and dad haven't missed the summer festival since before I was born," Emily explained to Mia.

"Long before you were born," Serena smirked. "Dad's mom used to take him every year until he got married, then mom and dad went together. Dad actually proposed to mom the Sunday night during the fireworks. I've been to every festival from the day I was born, until the year I was so sick, I couldn't get to the bathroom by myself."

"The following years were depressing," Emily said, "but mom and dad still took me to the festival and we had an awesome time."

"While I stayed home with dad's parents and listened to them tell stories of what the farm looked like back in the day," Serena muttered. "When the other side of your family has generations and generations of Samurai history to tell… making your own manure just isn't that exciting."

"There is nothing exciting about manure," Mia rolled her eyes. She fixed up Emily's hair and gave her a kiss on the forehead, "There you go. You're all done."

"Thank you!" Emily chirped happily and rushed out of the bathroom, excited to get back to Mike. Since he had been returned to her, she could barely leave his side for five minutes.

When Emily was gone, Serena turned to Mia with a teasing smirk. The pink Ranger tried to ignore the look, but with the mirror reflecting the stare, it was hard.

"What?"

"Normally I'm the one smothering her with love and affection, and you're the one telling me to let her go. What's up, Mama Pink?"

"Nothing," Mia shook her head, "It's just cute how she's all excited."

"So? She's Emily. She's always cute and almost always excited about something," Serena shrugged, "It's her default."

"Well, I'm just glad to see her so happy again."

"So am I," Serena nodded, "but her face isn't covered in my DNA."

"Well, you are sisters…"

"Yeah, sisters, not twins," Serena chuckled. "Seriously, what's going on?"

Mia twirled her hair around the curling iron and shrugged, "Nothing. She just did a big thing for me the other day and I'm trying to let her know I appreciate it."

"If you appreciate it anymore, you're going to swallow her face," Serena took the curling iron from Mia to help her. Mia's hair was so long, that when she wanted to have it done up nicely, she needed an extra set of hands. "That's the person Emily is. You should know that by now. Hell, from day one you should have known that. She took _my_ place as the yellow Ranger. The day she walked out that door, I seriously thought I was never going to see her again."

"Yeah, but that's different. At least, it feels different. She took your place as a Power Ranger. It's a risky job, but she's got a lot going from her. From square one, I don't think anyone was going to let anything happen to her. She gave up the love of her life so I could have mine. How would you feel if she did that for you? Just so you and James could live a normal, happy life together, Emily sacrificed everything that made her happy."

"It would tear me to pieces," Serena nodded. "But everything worked out, okay? That move she made, though stupid, saved both Mike's and Kevin's lives. She's happy, you should be happy too. And stop drooling on my sister. I don't appreciate it. It's bad enough I've got to share that face with Mike. I'm not splitting it into three."

"You and Mike split Emily's face?"

"We try to," Serena nodded, "Emily's a sneaky bugger, though. I think she figured us out. She'll turn the other cheek right at the last minute."

"Why won't you two just call a truce?" Mia laughed.

"Because I never give up," Serena smiled and then finished up with Mia's hair.

-Samurai-

In the master bedroom, the boys were getting ready for their day at the festival, but they weren't quite sure what to wear. Serena and Emily insisted they kept it simple, but all three of the girls had been in the bathroom getting ready for hours.

"They're a bunch of farmers, right?" Mike pulled out one of his nicer shirt, but still a casual wear, "Think this will do?"

"The problem isn't so much _what_ we wear," Ji pulled on a pair of jeans and winced at the fabric. It wasn't often he wore something that wasn't a kimono. Wearing real pants was something he always had to get used to. Especially jeans. "It's _how_ we wear it. This town hasn't had visitors in years. Unless we blend in, we're really, really going to stand out."

"In other words, take off the scarf," Jayden pulled the scarf away from Antonio's neck, "Does this thing ever get washed, anyways?"

"Weekly," Antonio took the scarf back and wrapped it around his neck, "I don't care if I stand out. I'm going to have fun."

"Besides," Mike chuckles, "The scarf hides the hickey."

Jayden and Antonio both blushed as Antonio made sure to cover his neck with the scarf. Ji pretended like he hadn't heard a word. While he was comfortable with the relationship between Jayden and Antonio, Jayden was still his son. Any hickeys, given or received, were uncomfortable to learn about – it didn't matter who they came from.

"So, while Mike was dead and I was dying, you two were sucking face?"

"We were cheering each other up," Antonio insisted.

"By bursting tiny veins in each other's neck?" Kevin laughed and turned to Mike, "Next time something happens to them, we should see if Mia and Emily are up for a little make-out session."

"Jayden doesn't have any bite marks," Mike was doing his best to get a look at Jayden's neck, "You know, I always thought Antonio wore the pants."

"Really? Because with Jayden as leader, I kinda figured he would take control…"

"Guys, seriously?" Jayden was as red as his shirt, "Can we not do this… ever?"

"Nothing wrong with letting someone else take control from time to time," Mike shrugged his shoulders and smirked playfully, "You wouldn't believe what Emily…"

"Yeah. Conversation over," Kevin covered Mike's mouth with his hand. The green Ranger quickly pulled away and swatted Kevin's hand back.

"Dude, don't do that. I just suffocated to death."

"No death talk on festival day," James said as he came back into the room with a freshly diapered Terran, "Today is a day for fun and enjoyment."

"Much like last night for Jayden and Antonio," Kevin smirked their way, "And the night before, and the night before…"

"There's only one hickey!" Antonio tightened the scarf a little more, "One hickey, one night."

"I've been alive about a week," Mike said, "If there was a cheer up hickey, it faded and was recently replaced."

"What hickey?" James asked and looked to Jayden and Antonio, "Who has a hickey?"

"No one," Ji got up, adjusted his pants and smiled at the boys, "I think we all look presentable for the festival. James, did you hear if the girls were ready?"

"Knowing girls, they'll still be in there all day," James shook his head, "We've got plenty of time to relax before the chaos."

"The bright side to being gay," Antonio smirked, "not waiting hours for your girlfriend to finish up in the bathroom."

There was a knock on the door, "Are you guys decent?"

"Come in, Em," Mike called her and the door opened. His jaw hit the floor with a bang the moment she walked in. She wasn't wearing anything fancy, and she didn't look like she was ready to go to the ball to dance with her prince charming (because that was Mia's fairy tale), but she did look gorgeous. He was amazed at what a simple summer dress, curls, and a big, bright smile could do. "Wow, Em."

Emily blushed, "It's nothing special, and Mia and Serena used a lot of make-up to cover up…"

"It's all special," Mike pulled her in for a kiss.

Antonio chuckled and gave Jayden a little nudge, "Looks like someone's trying to join the hickey club."

Jayden simply pouted, "You never call me special."

"Aw, because you're always special," Antonio leaned in for a kiss. Jayden pulled away.

"Wouldn't that not make me special?"

"What would you rather be? Always special, or only sometimes special and mostly just ordinary?"

"Always special," Jayden finally leaned in for the kiss.

Kevin saw this and looked down at his watch. He tapped his foot impatiently, "How much time does it take Mia and Serena to get ready?"

"They're almost done," Emily promised him before someone grabbed her legs. She looked down and saw Terran burying his face between her legs. She chuckled and lifted him up, and then smiled brightly at his costume, "Aw, look at my little cowboy."

"We thought it was appropriate," James smiled. He tipped Terran's little cowboy hat forward, "Howdy, Auntie Emy."

Emily cuddled her nephew, "I need to take a picture of this," she set Terran down on his feet and held his hands. He had a little trouble walking in boots, as he was still getting used to walking in general, but with his aunt's help he made it down the hallway and into their bedroom for pictures.

Serena and Mia were finally done and walked out of the bathroom to see Emily and the little cowboy. Mia cooed and followed Emily to the bedroom to help with pictures and Serena just laughed. She went to join James and the boys.

"I knew, as soon as you saw the costume, you would find an excuse to dress him up," she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, my boy's freaking adorable," James said proudly, "He's going to be a heartbreaker when he gets older."

"Unlike his daddy," Serena teased.

James wrapped his arms around her, "I'm not a heartbreaker? So Emily's threats about breaking my neck if I break your heart _again_ were all lies? You're lucky to have me."

Antonio hugged Jayden close, "Feeling a little more special now?"

"Yep."

Serena rolled her eyes and laughed, "I'm lucky? As soon as we get to the festival and people see me alive and well, boys are going to be lining up just for the chance to look at me."

"All five boys in your age group in this town."

"A hundred percent is a hundred percent," Serena shrugged, "I totally win."

"With heads that big, neither of you are leaving the room," Kevin laughed, "We were supposed to leave half-an-hour ago. Let's move it!"

"Have you ever been late for anything, Kevin?" Mike teased him, "Dude, it's a tree day event. You'll have plenty of time to… do whatever it is you consider fun."

"Ha-ha," Kevin rolled his eyes. He couldn't do much more. Though Mike insisted there was no debt between them, Kevin still felt he owed the green Ranger a lot, and part of paying that back (though he never would) was letting the green Ranger get away with taunts and teases. "Mia, Emily! The cowboy's cute, but we're going to the festival whether you're in the car or not."

"Aw," Serena reached over and pinched Kevin's cheeks, "You think we're taking the car."

"We're not taking the car?" Jayden asked and the boys all traded curious looks.

Serena nodded, "It's tradition. No motor vehicles allowed on or near festival grounds."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Ruins the atmosphere, I guess. Besides, the town is so crowded, there's usually nowhere to park."

"So how are we getting there?" Mike asked.

Serena opened the front door and led the Samurai (Mia, Emily, and Terran included) out to the barn. As she walked over to the horses' stalls, Emily walked to the big, mystery door no one had opened since arriving. Emily pulled the door open wide and then smiled brightly.

"Your chariot awaits."

Mia's eyes were as wide as anyone had ever seen them, "It's like a fairy tale!"

Emily looked back at the horse cart and shrugged, "It's not fancy, but it'll get us all there and back. And it won't turn into a pumpkin at midnight."

"And what they failed to mention in Cinderella is that horses aren't clean and proper," Serena said as she brought over a couple of horses, "Emily, promise you cleaned these guys up this morning?"

"Uh…" Emily looked to Mike worriedly as Serena got the horses ready to be hooked onto the cart. She had forgotten all about grooming the horses, and instead spent the morning fooling around with Mike, "Yeah, of course I did. You know horses, though. If there's a mess, they'll roll around in it."

"Sure," Serena shook her head, "Get the brush and clean them off a bit while I do this."

"Do I have to?"

"Not if you did it this morning."

"I… uh… hey Mia, do you really want to feel like Cinderella? In the first part of that story, doesn't she…?"

"I'm good with the second half," Mia chuckled, "but nice try."

Emily let out a heavy sigh as she started to walk back to the tool shed, "Oh, alright… I guess that's fair. I did get a little distracted this morning with Mike. We should have just stuck to our chores instead of wondering off and having a little fun, because, you know, it's not like Mike died or anything just so you and Kevin could…"

"I'll go find the brush," Mia groaned.

"I'll help," Kevin sighed and walked with her.

Serena chuckled and looked over at her sister as she got the first horse attached to the cart, "How long are you going to guilt trip them for?"

"I don't know, why?"

"I've always wanted their room," Serena smirked, "It's bigger, and it has its own bathroom. When we move back into the Shiba House, it would be nice to…"

"On it," Emily smirked and skipped off after Mia and Kevin.

James shook his head. Serena saw him, "Hey, we still have to discuss our living arrangements for after this. Wouldn't it be nice to have more room and our own bathroom?"

"We'll talk," James promised her. "Need any help?"

"Now you offer?" Serena got the second horse ready to go, "Just get in."


	2. A Fun Night

People. There were a lot of people. Emily and Serena always talked about how small the town was, but when everyone gathered in the square the town felt very, very crowded.

Serena stopped the cart and jumped off first, taking Terran in her arms while the others climbed down and looked around in awe. It was basically just a big gathering of people, but the decorations, the lights, the smells, and all the delicious foods were amazing.

"Can we come here every year?" Mike asked.

"The festival hasn't even started," Serena chuckled.

Ji gave Jayden a little nudge. The red Ranger nodded and behind his back he traced a couple of symbols. They flew out, surrounded the festival grounds and created a little shield. It was nothing as powerful as what they had around the house, or even the Shiba House, but it would work to keep monsters from ruining their night off.

"We are safe here," Ji announced, "Rangers, go have fun."

Mike grabbed Emily's arm and yanked him excitedly away from the others, "There's so many games to play! I want to see if I can win something!"

Kevin was tugging Mia along, "Whoa, Mia, look at that! The watermelon is HUGE! There's no way that thing is real. And look at that eggplant! If we had produce this big, we could feed the house for months!"

James saw there was a petting zoo and took Terran to meet all the other kinds of animals there were on farms: sheep, donkeys, llamas, turkeys, and rabbits. He wanted his little cowboy to learn his animals, and there was no better way than learning firsthand. James, every morning, would take Terran out to play with and touch the animals on his own farm. Terran loved feeling the different types of furs, and the feathers, and was amazed there were animals that were bigger than his father.

"I think James loves the animals more than Terran," Serena said to Ji, Jayden, and Antonio as she started to follow James, "the kid is just an excuse for James to unleash his inner kid."

Serena left to make sure James wouldn't accidentally piss off the gentle animals. Antonio looked to Jayden, "Pie eating contest."

"Think they have one here?"

"They've got to," Antonio nodded, "We have to find it. I starved myself all day so I could win that first place ribbon."

"There's my night," Jayden chuckled and then looked over to Ji, "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, Ji, you can stay with us," Antonio smiled, "No one should be alone tonight."

"Thank you for the offer, boys," Ji shook his head to politely decline, "but I have made other arrangements. I will see you at the end of the night."

"If you're sure," Jayden answered a little hesitantly. He would enjoy alone time with Antonio, but he didn't want Ji to be by himself the entire night.

"Positive. Go have fun. Eat a pie for me."

"You heard the man," Antonio nodded and grabbed Jayden's arm, "C'mon, I'm starving!"

-Samurai-

"There's no way," Kevin whispered as he kept his eyes glued to the giant crops sitting before him, all organized according to type. There was also a large scale on the ground, ready and waiting to reveal the weight of the massive produce.

"Are we going to spend the entire night with you trying to figure out how born and raised farmers can make big crops? They know what they're doing…"

"Mia, this watermelon is impossibly big," Kevin gestured to the watermelon that seemed to be about the size of his body and likely the weight of Emily – it had yet to be determined. "This has to be a trick or an illusion or…"

"It's not a magic show," Mia shook her head.

"I grew a tomato last year. Remember that?"

"One tomato," Mia giggled. "One teeny, tiny…"

"If I can figure out how every year they grow crops this big, we can add a garden to our perfect home, and we'll save thousands on produce every year."

"Thousands?"

"We'll save a lot of money."

"Or, we can save ourselves the stress and _buy_ produce from these hardworking farmers trying to feed their families…"

"They have giant produce. They're well fed," Kevin said and saw a man tending to the giant eggplant sitting on the table, easily the biggest one Kevin had ever seen, "Excuse me, would you mind telling me the secret to…"

"No."

"But I just want to…"

"No."

Mia grabbed Kevin by the arm and started to pull him away, "Excuse him. He's new and he's kind of hit his head one time too many. Good luck in the contest."

She pulled Kevin back into the crowd and shook his head, "This is a competition, Kevin. An annual competition. These farmers have secrets and they all want that prize. They won't tell you, a tourist, the magic behind their life's work. You're not going to tell him the secret to Symbol Powers, are you?"

"That's different."

"Let's just watch the weigh-in and be fascinated. That sounds like… fun."

"You want to do something else?"

"Kind of," Mia smirked, "We arrived in a carriage. We're at a festival. The lights, the stars, the night… I kind of wanted a bit of a more… romantic night."

"Romantic how?"

Mia pointed to a closed down shop. Because of the festival, everything in town was closed for the night and everyone was in the square for the fun.

"We could get a little privacy. I mean, Mike and Emily did give up everything for us to be together. It would be a shame if we didn't take advantage of that right here, right now."

"Think you can get in?"

Mia nodded and pulled a pin out from her hair, "I planned for it already."

-Samurai-

Antonio brought Jayden over to the table for the pie eating contest, so happy he had found one ready to go. They got their bibs and were waiting patiently for the pies to be placed before them. The game was simple. First to lick their plates clean, without using hands in anyway, would be crowned winner. Antonio licked his lips in anticipation. Jayden looked a little nervous.

"Explain again what we have to do?"

"Eat and enjoy," Antonio smirked, "Just stuff you face right in there, open wide, and take in all the yumminess. With me around, you're not going to win anyways."

"This goes against everything I was taught as a kid," Jayden said and looked down as a pie was placed before him, "No hands?"

"No hands," Antonio nodded. Jayden was a little hesitant, and when the bell rang for the competition to begin, he wasn't sure what to do. He looked around and saw Antonio, as well as other men, women, and even young boys and girls, digging into their desserts and devouring them like they hadn't see food in years, and didn't expect to see it again for another few years.

He decided to loosen up, join the fun and smashed his face into the pie. The others had a head start, but he wasn't going to let that stop him from claiming a prize. The pies were huge and he would feel sick afterwards, but it would be worth it if a ribbon was presented to him.

-Samurai-

Serena chuckled as she watched James give Terran a safe and fun ride on the back of a donkey, and Terran, her little cowboy, loved every minute of it. The donkey fascinated him, like no other animal had ever fascinated him before. Serena could see the excitement in her son's eyes, and the joy in James' eyes. It brought tears to hers. She had given up hope on having a perfect family. Years ago it was due to her illness. She was certain she would be dead long before she found the perfect man, and longer before she would ever have a child to call her own. Recently, it was because of her mixed up family. She had a Nighlok's son, she was a part of the Samurai, and the only man she was sure would ever be accepting of that had walked away from her.

But they were back, she was healed, and she could finally see a future working out.

"S-Serena?"

She turned around, hearing a voice call her name, and she saw former classmates of hers, from years ago, all staring at her with their jaws in the dirt. Quickly realizing they still believed she was deathly ill, or worse, she knew how strange this was for them.

"Hey, guys."

Her very best friend growing up, Erin, threw her arms around her in a passionate hug. Erin had stuck it out during Serena's illness until the future looked too bleak, and then she and Serena mutually agreed to end the relationship. To Serena, it was bad enough watching her family suffer through the grief, she couldn't force her friends to wait around for her either. For Erin, it was too difficult seeing her best friend completely helpless and knocking on death's door, and every day she would arrive with tears, and leave with rivers pouring down her face. Thinking they would be forced to say goodbye anyways, they decided to take matters into their own hands.

But Serena wasn't dead. She was alive and well, and by the looks of things, she was better than Erin had ever seen her.

"You never called?" Erin suddenly shoved Serena and glared at her hatefully, "How long have you been better? How long have you been back? Your parents said you were taken to the city because there was nothing more that could be done for you here. I thought you were _dead!_"

"Sorry, Erin. Things came up," Serena shrugged somewhat nervously, "There's been a lot going on with Emily and I've been trying to get my life started…"

"But you're better now? This isn't like… a fake recovery or anything. You're actually…"

"Fully recovered," Serena nodded. She was strangled again in her best friend's arms. By now, the rest of Serena's former classmates had dispersed. They cared for her, the entire town cared for her, but they couldn't all crowd around her, and there was so much more to do at the summer festival. No one wanted to waste their time.

"Wave to mommy!"

Serena turned her head slightly to see Terran and James walking by on the donkey, smiling happily. When she looked back to Erin, she saw her best friend's jaw was on the ground again. Serena chuckled and grabbed Erin by the arm, "We have a lot to catch up on."

"Obviously!"

-Samurai-

"You really didn't have to."

"I wanted to. Show those punks they were the losers."

"I know I'm not a loser," Emily giggled and hugged her giant teddy bear. Every year there was one giant bear to be won playing games at the festival, and growing up, every year Emily wanted to win it. She always tried and tried, but the other kids were always better than she was, and if she didn't finish dead last, she only managed to score high enough to earn herself a dinky prize. Serena used to try competing for her, and would win the bigger stuffed prizes, but never the big bear.

No one, ever, won the big bear.

This year, Emily tried again, hoping her time away would be just the kick she needed to outsmart and outplay her opponents – her former tormentors, but she still didn't have it in her, and hearing them whisper about how much of a loser she still was started to get to her.

But she wasn't the only one who heard the whispers. Mike did, and he didn't like it. So he sat down at the booth, took the water gun in his hands and kicked everyone's asses, as well as earned enough points, in one try, to win the giant teddy bear. The girls watching were amazed, and Emily heard most of their comments about how gorgeous Mike was and why they hadn't ever noticed him before, and some planned on flirting with him (which had distracted her and was the reason she had fallen dead last). The guys were all in awe, and had crowded around Mike to ask him how he had managed to win.

Mike ignored them all as he accepted his prize – the big, giant teddy bear. They asked him questions, some girls even tried to hit on him. But he set his sights on Emily, handed her the bear, and gave her a kiss, in front of everybody. Jaws hit the ground.

"Emily… you're his girlfriend?"

Mike shook his head. He wrapped his arms around Emily, gave her cheek a kiss, and smiled lovingly at her.

"I'm her fiancé."

"Emily's fiancé? You want to marry her?"

"I'm lucky enough to be marrying her," Mike said proudly, "C'mon, beautiful, let's show everyone the new bear I won just for you."

As he whisked her and the bear away, he glanced over his shoulder and saw Emily's tormentors were in complete shock, unable to believe their so-called town loser had him for a fiancé. She had definitely come out a winner.

"Beautiful?" Emily asked when they were out of earshot. Mike nodded his head.

"Alright, I had to rub it in just a little more. But I wasn't lying. You are beautiful."

"With the broken nose, the bruises, and…"

"Beautiful," he kissed her again, "So where is everyone…"

"FIRST PLACE!" Jayden cried as he walked over, with Antonio, holding up a bright blue ribbon.

"His pie was smaller," Antonio pouted and stuffed what looked like a participant's ribbon into his pocket, "That's the only logical explanation."

"Pie eating contest?" Mike asked as he had a look at the ribbon, "Dude, you won a pie eating contest?"

"I got hungry," Jayden smirked, "and the pies were good," he gestured to their fifth guest, "What's up with the teddy bear?"

"Mike won it!" Emily threw her arms around the bear's neck, just barely making it all the way around. "Eighteen years, I've been staring at the bear waiting to win it! Finally, it's mine!"

"Games," Mike smirked, cracking his knuckles, "Easy win. These country folk have no idea who they were messing with."

"It's bigger than Emily," Antonio chuckled.

"What isn't?"

"Whoa, big bear alert!" James announced as he came over, holding a very tired Terran in his arms. The little boy was clinging tightly onto a stuffed donkey toy that was nothing in size compared to the massive bear in Emily's arms… or, rather, the massive bear holding Emily in its arms. "Where did you get that?"

"I won it," Mike said proudly and then gestured to Terran's donkey, "Where'd you get the ass?"

"Terran loved riding the donkey so much, I thought I'd get him a souvenir."

"Terran also loves hitting things with spoons," Antonio laughed, "What's the difference?"

"I'm his father," James shifted the little boy in his arms slightly so Terran could fall asleep, "I know the difference."

Serena returned to join to Samurai at the end of their night, followed by a woman no one recognized, though Emily did get the feeling she had met the woman before, and likely had.

"Guys, meet my best friend growing up, Erin," Serena was smiling brightly as she introduced her friend to the team, "Erin, this is Jayden, Antonio, Mike, and my fiancé James, my son Terran, and you remember Emily."

"You weren't kidding when you said your family expanded," Erin said as she shook everyone's hands. When she got to Emily, she gave the youngest Samurai a big hug, "Wow, you've grown a lot."

"She has?" all the boys asked teasingly. Emily stood the bear up and had it growl.

"Emy, remember Erin? She used to come over almost every day."

"A little bit," Emily admitted, "but a lot of people used to come over every day. Every day, every night, every…"

"I get it," Serena nodded. She pointed to the bear, "You finally won it?"

"Mike did!" Emily bounced excitedly, "He won it and showed off to everyone! They're all jealous of me, now! You should have seen it! Their jaws dropped, their eyes were huge, and I didn't even have to do anything special!"

"You gave her candy, didn't you?" James whispered to Mike. The green Ranger nodded his head.

"A little bit. It's mostly just from the fun night."

Mia and Kevin finally returned to the group, looking a little dishevelled from their night, but the look on their faces said it all. They had fun.

"Did you guys win any prizes?" Emily asked and stuffed her bear in Mia's face, "This is what Mike won for me."

"No prizes," Mia smiled and pushed the bear away from her face, "but we did have a good night."

"Now we just need to find Ji," Jayden announced and had a look around while Erin said goodbye to Serena. Jayden looked through the crowd as best he could, but he couldn't see Ji anywhere, "Does anyone know where he went?"

"You mean he wasn't with any of us tonight?" Kevin asked, "What did he do by himself? Can you even have fun by yourself?"

Mia waved her Samuraizer gently, "He's not answering, but his signal is coming from around here. Maybe we should start looking."

"Great, this is just what we need," Serena rolled her eyes, "More drama."

"Hopefully he's not in trouble," Emily lifted the bear up onto her back so it could travel with her and the group, but it was so big Mike had to take it off her hands, and he and Kevin carried the oversized prize.

"Uh… guys…" James waved the team over and the peeked around the side of a shop, sneaking a look around the corner, "You're not going to believe this."

One by one, the Samurai's heads poked around the corner until they were all spying on the man sitting at the beach with what looked to be his girlfriend. Realizing who they were looking at, they all gasped. Emily reached down and covered her bear's eyes.

"Way to go, mentor Ji," Antonio smirked and was slapped on the back of the head by Jayden, "OW!"

"How did he manage to get a girlfriend in one night?" Mike asked.

"Dad kind of let it slip that the Samurai had contacts us here to keep our family safe," Serena whispered, "Maybe this isn't just a one night thing…"

"Kiss!" Kevin called out, in a whisper so Ji wouldn't hear.

"Aw," Mia smiled, genuinely happy for her mentor, "That's really cute."

"Cute? I think my pie is coming back up."

"Not on our heads," Mike, Serena, Mia, and Emily looked up at Jayden and then pulled away from the corner before his body rejected the pie.

"So… do we break it up?" Kevin asked, "Or do we head home and pretend like nothing happened tomorrow?"

"I say we let him be," James put in his vote, "He works hard all the time. I think he deserves a little fun, even if it's just a one night thing."

"You don't get a vote," Jayden shook his head, "He's not your Samurai mentor."

"I agree with James," Mia smiled, "Mentor's done a lot for…"

"You don't get a vote either," Jayden frowned.

"C'mon, dude," Mike put his hand on his leader's shoulder, "The man's dedicated his entire life to you. Give him a break once in a while. If he wants to play tonsil hockey with a girl, let him play."

Jayden let out a heavy sigh, "Alright… but just for tonight. Tomorrow, everything goes back to normal."

"Deal," the others agreed and set off to find their ride. As the boys raced off, teasing and messing around with Emily and her new giant bear, and James tried to get them to calm down so they didn't wake up Terran, Mia hung back with Serena, smiling from ear to ear. Serena caught her grin and nudged her.

"What?"

"Tonight was a good idea. We haven't had fun like that in a while. I haven't seen all of them so happy in a while."

"We've been through hell," Serena nodded, "but we made it out."

"For now," Mia flipped open her Samuraizer, "While looking for Ji's signal, I noticed this."

"Sanzu Water?"

"Traces of it everywhere on the map," Mia nodded, "All around the Shiba House, maybe even all around the city. I don't think we have long to wait before Serrator, Dayu, Dekker, and even Xandred start coming after us again. It's been a while, if you think about it."

"The Summer festival does mark the end of summer. No more carefree bliss, no more bright, sunny relaxing days. It's back to work, back to school... stress, frustrations, and bad days all around."

"And the weather's not as hot. The Nighlok won't dry up as quickly," Mia said, "Fall's the worst season for the Nighlok attack. They come back after a long rest, and they come back with a vengeance."

"We're ready for them."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," Serena nodded, "We'll press our luck and enjoy the time we have left before they do come back. We'll be more than ready to kick their asses when they do come. And besides, if they do get the better of us, I'll have a much bigger and better room to recover in. With my own bathroom."

Mia groaned. Before leaving for the festival, Emily had talked to her and Kevin about switching rooms with Serena, insisting it would be easier for Serena, James, Terran, Mike, and Emily to have rooms close together. Still feeling guilty over the sacrifice Mike and Emily made for them, Kevin and Mia felt they had no choice but to give the yellow Ranger what she wanted and had given up their room for Serena, and James and Terran if they decided to move in.

"That wasn't fair, or nice."

"I don't care," Serena stuck out her tongue, "I win. Emily loves me more than you."

"Really? All she did was give you a bedroom in a house we're going to hopefully move out of soon. She gave me a lifetime of happiness with the man I love," Mia decided it was appropriate to stick out her tongue, "Aw, Serena, how does it feel to know your baby sister loves me more than you? And I've only known her for what… two years? Not even…"

"Shut up," Serena crossed her arms over her chest and walked away, "I hope you know, Watanabe, this means war!"


End file.
